Dream A Crow Black Dream
by athenethegoddess
Summary: Eric gets a vision, and ends up headed for Colorado Springs. Daniel notices a large black bird following him around, and mystery and exceitement abound. WIP
1. Prologue

Ok. Author's Notes: One: We all know that I'm getting no money, I don't own anything, and if you really want to sue me, please do, but remember, you won't be getting much.

Two: This story is based on the TV show, not the movies, and characters may appear in here that were NOT in the movies. All characters that aren't in either, are mine. Ask before playing with them, please.

Three: I've screwed with the timelines in both movies, because, in real life, I almost flatly refuse to acknowledge that Daniel died, but for the story, its (sadly) neccessary. Also, for the record. Janet Frasier did not die, will not die, and whoever thought up that particular plot twist has my never-ending disgust and disdain. Thats all for now..  
  
_Don't look, don't look _

_The shadows breathe _

_Whispering me away from you _

_Don't wake at night to watch her sleep _

_You know that you will always see _

_This trembling, adored, tousled bird mad girl  
  
Every night I burn _

_Every night I call your name _

_Every night I burn _

_Every night I fall again  
  
Don't talk of love 'caus shadows blur _

_Murming me away from you _

_Don't talk of worlds that never were _

_The end is always ever true _

_There's nothing you can ever say _

_Nothing you can ever do  
  
Still every night I burn _

_Every night I scream your name _

_Every night I burn _

_Every night the dream's the same _

_Every night I burn _

_Waiting for my only friend _

_Every night I burn _

_Waiting for the world to end  
  
Just paint your face and shadows smile _

_Slipping me away from you _

_Oh it doesn't matter how you hide _

_Find you if we're wanting to _

_So slide back down and close your eyes _

_Sleep a while, you must be tired  
  
When every night I burn _

_Every night I call your name _

_Every night I call your name _

_Every night I fall again  
  
Every night I brun _

_Scream the animal screams _

_Every night I burn _

_Dream the crow black dream  
  
Dream the crow black dream  
  
Still every night I burn _

_Every night I scream your name _

_Every night I burn _

_Every night the dream's the same _

_Every night I burn _

_Screaming the animal scream _

_Every night I burn _

_Dreaming the crow black dream _

_Yeah, yeah, _

_Dreaming the crow black dream  
--The Cure-- _


	2. Chapter 1

_Colorado Springs, Colorado._  
  
Daniel's eyes opened suddenly, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. A crow. What does that mean? Why was he having these dreams...or are they nightmares? Abruptly, he blinked. Awarness, or at least conscienceness, slowly grew in the cerulean orbs.  
He sighed, closed his eyes. Rolled over, and was back asleep in minutes, having never been really awake. The sleeper in the bed next to him stirred. Opened brown eyes, saw that his beloved was still there, and went back to sleep. Neither of them noticed the large bird, larger than a crow, but smaller than a raven, perched on the window sill outside.  
It cocked its head, a vaugely human expression in its eyes, and cawed softly. It slowly streatched its wings out, and hopping off the sill, glided silently away.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------  
  
_Port Colombia, Washington_  
  
Dead men don't sleep. So, when the crow flew in the broken window of the appartment where Eric Draven had died, and now....lived wasn't the right word, but it was the closest. Existed, perhaps. Survived, barely. For long moments, neither man nor bird moved. The wind fluttered the birds feathers, and the man's hair. Silence, unbroken by either, streatched. The silence was broken by a police siren, far off, in the distance. Eric briefly thought of Daryl, wondered if the siren was him. Both the siren, and the thought, faded into nothing. Silence, once again unbroken, but for the sound of the rain hitting the roof. Suddenly the crow decided that the silence had gone on too long, and cawed harshley. It flapped its wings, turned, and resettled itself facing Eric. Eric met the birds eyes, a question forming itself in his mind.  
  
_What is it this time, I wonder..._  
  
Brief, flickering images formed themselves in Erics mind. Broken images of the crows wanderings. Until, suddenly the focused on one particular image. Two men stood, togethere, oblivious to their surroundings. And to the bird, perched on the hood of a nearby car. Both Eric and the crow observed them for seconds, before the image changed. Landscapes flew by; Eric thought he recognized Pike's Peak, wasn't that somewhere in Colorado? Suddenly the images clarified, once again on the two men. Only this time, the older, silver haired man, stood by two graves. One read 'Charlie O'niell' and two dates. The other read 'Daniel Jackson' and two dates. Eric was confused. One of the men had died, obviously. And so had someone else, someone named Charlie. Eric was still didn't understand. And then, he did. The crow showed him one final image before he released Eric. An image of both men, obviously more recent then the last one, standing in front of an obviously new house, moving thier belongings inside. But he was dead, wasn't he....That means...Is he a Crow, like me?  
  
Eric once again met the birds eyes, this time a diffrent question in his. Just one word.  
  
_Where?  
_  
And the crow showed him a mountain, with a tunnle leading into it, surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers. Above the tunnle read the words 'Cheyenne Mountain.'  
  
"Cheyenne Mountain? You want me to go to COLORADO??"  
  
The bird cawed, and flew off.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes."  
  
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	3. Chapter 2

_Port Colombia, Washington  
_  
"What do you mean, you have to go to Colorado? You don't even like to leave your appartment, and now you're going to Colorado. Are you _insane_?"

Detective Daryl Albrecht looked at Eric like he'd just escaped from a mental health institute, and was wondering when the men in the white shirts were going to come pick him up again.   
  
Eric just shrugged at Daryl's question.  
  
"Its just something I have to do. I don't expect you to understand, hell, _I_ don't even understand, but I need to go to Colorado."  
  
Daryl shook his head, confused and stunned at Eric's abrupt announcement.

"What's going on, a Crow convention in Colorado Springs or something?"  
  
Eric glanced at him, brief supprise folowed by mischief. "Something like that."  
  
Daryl paused, key in the ignition, and turned to look at Eric.

"You're joking, right? Because I was just joking. And this is the punch line that I forgot to tell, right. Right?"  
  
Eric sighed. "Daryl. When was the last time that you heard me tell a joke, hmm? If you can remember me ever telling you a joke, excluding when I was...not me, then this can be a joke."  
  
The Detective, sighed, and started the car. Eric was right. He never told jokes, except for when he...wasn't himself. When he was the Crow, he was a regual stand up comedian. Silently, Daryl shook his head, wondering if Eric had that type of sense of humor when he was alive.  
  
He pulled out of the police parking lot, once again wondering excatly how Eric had gotten into the car again. Daryl always checked his car before getting into it, yet every time Eric had wanted to talk to him he just appeared in the car. When Daryl had checked the car, no one had been in it. Seconds after he opened the door, and got in, when he'd turned for just a second to get the door closed, Eric had been sitting in the passenger seat, a small smirk on his face. Daryl had just sighed.  
  
"So. When are you leaving?" Daryl glanced at him, taking his eyes off the road for just a few seconds, then turning back. Silently he braced himself for the arguments to come, because no mater what, he wasn't letting Eric go to Colorado by himself.  
  
"Tomorrow, after the club closes." The club was the _Blackout_, where the owner, India, had given Eric a job as a bouncer. Eric was supprisingly good at it, considering all he'd ever been was a musician. But then again, considering his other...occupation, it wasn't all that suprising that he'd be able to spot trouble when it appeared at the door.  
  
"Ok. I'm coming with you."  
  
Daryl drove in silence for about a minute before stopping at a red light, and turning to look at his silent passenger.  
  
"What? You thought I was going to refuse your help? Daryl. I'm dead, not stupid."  
  
Daryl sat there in stunned silence, until the honking of the cars behind him finally registed. With a start, he turned back to the road before him, and continued driving.  
  
"You thought I was going to tell you to butt out, or to mind your own business, didn't you."  
  
"Well....yeah."  
  
"Sorry to dissapoint you. Besides, I could do with the company. And possably the help."  
  
Daryl glanced at him, an incredulous look on his face. "My help? How could I possably help you?"  
  
"Daryl. I'm heading for a _maximum security Air Force base_. I could probably do with all the help I can get."  
  
Daryl stopped the car for another red light, and Eric glanced around, making sure that no one was looking directly at him, and waited for Daryl's reaction.  
  
"Oh. Well, when you put it that way, how could I possably refuse. Wait a minute.....**_A WHAT??"_**  
  
But it was too late, Eric had dissapeared, as soon as he saw the information start to sink in.  
  
"What does he want with a maximum security AIR FORCE base? What the hell is going on here??"

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	4. Chapter 3

_Colorado Springs, Colorado_  
  
Daniel, juggleing his cup of coffee, briefcase, jacket, and keys, slammed the door to the car. Setting everything down on the hood of the car, he re-arranged everything so that he only had his coffee in his right hand. Checking that he had his ID visable around his neck, he turned towards the guardstation.  
  
He'd taken about 10 steps, when he stopped suddenly, and turned around. Jack stopped in suprise. He thought he'd be able to at least get a little closer before Daniel noticed him. But then he realized that it wasn't him that Daniel was looking at.  
Whipping around, he searched for the imagined threat that made Daniel so jumpy this early in the morning. All he saw was Daniel's car.  
  
"What are you looking at?" Jack asked, when Daniel said nothing.  
  
"That bird." Daniel said, gesturing with his coffee mug towards the car.  
  
"What bird?" Confused, Jack looked at Daniel, then looked back at the car. There was a large black bird perched on the hood of his car.  
  
"Oh. _That_ bird. What about it?"  
  
Daniel looked startled for a minute, then shook his head. "I could have sworn that it's been following me. Which, I know, sounds nuts, but it just seems that way. Like it's waiting for me to do something. Wierd, hunh."  
  
Jack looked at Danile, and smirked. "Danny, almost everything _about_ you is wierd. But, Daniel, its just a bird fer cryin' out loud. What can it do? So, its following you. Maybe its hungry, and you look like a pushover to it. Not that you are."  
Jack backpeddled quickly, not wanting to piss Daniel off this early in the morning. Maybe later in the day, but not this early. He'd only had 2 cups of coffee, and without his coffee, Daniel got nasty. Or visious might be a better adjective.  
  
Daniel glared at him, but it was a destracted, half hearted glare. He was still thinking about the damned bird. "I swear, Jack. It was on my car, almost the same exact place it is now, when I came out of the house this morning. And when I stopped for some coffee for my lab at the store, it landed on the hood as soon as I turned the car off. And it was still there when I came out. And now its back. Do you realize how freaky this is? I mean, there are so many diffrent stories and legends about crows and ravens. And most of them involve death in one form or another. Which I'd rather not experience _again_, thanks. Been there, done that, don't want the t-shirt."  
  
And Danile shivered, remembering the many times that he'd come close to, or actually died in the last 7 years.  
  
Jack shuddered. He didn't even like _thinking_ about the those times. When Daniel had died from the radiation poisoning he didn't think that he'd survive the year that followed. And he'd come close, several times, to just giving up. But he knew that if he did, things here on Earth would get bad. Real bad. Jack wasn't as egotistical as he made himself appear. He knew that he played an important role in keeping Earth safe, but he thought that he wasn't _that_ important.  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah, but Danny, its _just a bird_."  
  
Daniel glared at him. "You try having a big black bird stalking you, see how _you_ like it."  
  
Jack glanced back at the bird, then nodded again. "I see your point." He glanced at his watch. "Anyhow, we're _almost_ late. If we want to be on time, we gotta get movin'. Lets go."  
  
"Fine. But I still don't like it. And what kind of bird is that, anyhow?"  
  
Jack shrugged, and said "Dunno. Looks kinda like a raven to me."  
  
"Bit small for a raven, isn't it? Maybe its a crow. I'll look it up later, let's go."  
  
As they turned and walked away, the crow let out a raucous caw, and flew away. 


	5. Chapter 4

_Port Colombia, Washington_  
  
"Hey, Sarah." Eric smiled at the younger girl.  
  
"Hey yourself. What's up?" she wandered around the empty apartment, where she had stopped in to see what Eric was doing this morning.  
  
"Not much. Just wondering if you'd do a little research for me today. When you're not supposed to be doing _school work_, that is." He smiled at her groan.  
  
"Geez, man, its not like I don't do my stuff at school, its just that what you have me looking for is much more _interesting_!" She grinned at him.  
  
"Well, I'm not too sure if this'll be all that interesting. But I'm sure a hacker like yourself can get me the info I need."  
  
"Hacker! _Pah-leez_. I'm not as bad as a hacker. To quote Whoopie Goldberg, 'I'm not now, nor have I ever been a Las Vegas showgirl. I'm a headliner.' "  
  
Eric smiled, kind of. Sister Act II had been one of Shelly's favorite movies, and it was obviously still a favorite of Sarah's.  
  
"Ok. So, what am I looking up?" she looked expectantly at Eric.  
  
"I want you to find out as much as you can about a man named Daniel Jackson. I think that he's a Doctor. Not a medical doctor, but a....archaeologist? Something like that."  
  
Sarah looked at him like he'd gone nuts. "You want me to look up a guy who plays in the _dirt _looking for _old _things? Geez. Sounds _riviting_... Why do you want some info on him, anyhow?"  
  
"You might say that it just....interests me." And he looked towards the crow perched in the window.  
  
"Oh? OH! Ok." she paused and reguarded Eric suspiciously.

"Wait a minute. This isn't some kind of report that you and Darla cooked up in your spare time, is it?"  
  
Eric rolled his eyes. "Sarah. When was the last time you saw Darla and I talking together? And why would we be "cooking" something up?"  
  
She shrugged, "I dunno. 'Cause you're _adults_?"  
  
Eric staggered and clutched his chest dramatically. "_Ouch._ I'm wounded. You say "_adults"_ like some people say "_musicians_." No, its just something that a little birdie told me."  
  
"I see. Ok. Well, listen I gotta head out, or I'll be late. And we don't want _that _to happen, now do we. I'll stop by after school and drop the info off." She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door.  
  
"That's fine. And Sarah? Thanks."  
  
She smiled and waved, shutting the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 5

_Cheyenne Mountain complex, Level 28, Colorado_  
  
"Off world activation. Off world activation. Incoming wormhole." There was a slight pause. "Its SG2, sir." Sgt. Davis turned and glanced up at General Hammond, who nodded.  
  
"Open the iris."  
  
Jack wandered into the control room, and nodded at Davis & General Hammond.  
  
"SG3, hunh. Wonder if Ferretti found anything interesting. Planets supposed to be uninhabited, right?"  
  
Hammond nodded. "According to the MALP readings, it is."  
  
Jack sarcastically rolled his eyes. "Ah, yes. The infamous MALP readings. We all know how accurate _those _are."  
  
By now SG3 was through the Stargate, and it had shut itself off. The colonel followed the general down the gate roomy greet the newly arrived team.  
  
Jack was glad to notice no obvious wounds, broken bones or other injuries. Hell, no one as even _sunburned._ That's always a good sign for any of the SGC teams, but especially for SG1 & SG2. As it was, Dr. Janet Fraiser, CMO here at Cheyenne Mountain, was put on stand by every time that SG1 went off world. She was also alerted every time that SG2 went off world, because usually when SG2 went off world, it was usually to back up, or rescue, SG1.  
Most of the other teams were ok. They got the usually run of injuries, pulled muscles, sprains, sometimes broken bones, and wounds from fire-fights, but it seemed that teams 1 & 2 got most of the snake-head's attentions. No one was able to find out if they were blessed or cursed on that score.  
  
"Welcome back, any problems?" the general tried to be subtle about it, but he was visually checking each individual team member over, looking for anything wrong.  
  
"Well, no problems...per say." That was Louis Ferretti, leader of SG2. "But the planet wasn't as uninhabited as we thought."  
  
"See! What'd I tell you! Stupid MALPs." Jack smirked.  
  
General Hammond frowned repressively at him, and turned back to Ferretti. "I'm guessing that you made contact with the natives?"  
  
Ferretti shrugged, and looked sheepish. "Well...kinda. About 2 hours into the mission, we thought we kept hearing someone...or something, following us. But we never saw anything, other than a few birds. They looked kinda like crows...or ravens, we couldn't figure that part out. The strange thing was, sir, is that they appeared to be following us."  
  
Jack looked startled for a minute, but shook his head at the General's questioning look. "Just a thought, nothing important. Continue on."  
  
Ferretti glanced at him, curiosity plain on his face, but kept going. "Well, two days ago when we were setting up camp for the night, one of those _birds _flies in and lands on one of the packs. Next thing we know, a man walks out of the trees, and I swear, General, he wasn't there two seconds ago. He just walks into the camp, and perches himself on a rock. And I do mean "perch." If he'd had feathers, him and the bird could've been twins. Anyhow, we kind of just stood there for a few minutes, until suddenly he grinned at us. Calmly introduces himself as Derick Blackfeather. In English, non the less." Ferretti paused, and shook his head in obvious amazement.  
  
"Said that he'd been waiting for us, but that we weren't the ones that he was looking for. Told us that the planet was totally safe, and to enjoy the fine evening, and the respite from the, get this, snakes."  
  
Jack and the General exchanged a startled glance, because in all their travels, SG1 and the Tau'ri were the only ones who used that expression. Everyone else called them Gods, Goa'uld, or parasites. For this stranger to have used the expression was an anomaly.  
  
"And then, he just...disappeared. As if into thin air. And the bird just flew off. If I hadn't been wide awake, I'd have sworn that it was either a dream or a hallucination. Except, there were these two black feathers laying where the man, Derick, had been sitting. See?"  
  
And he held up two black feathers, feathers so black, they looked blue. General Hammond took the feathers, looked at them briefly, and handed them to Jack.  
  
"Head over to the infirmary, get yourselves checked out, just in case. Briefing at 13:00."  
  
"Yes, sir." Ferretti saluted, and him and his team slowly walked out of the room, with Ferretti glancing back, just as they exited.  
  
"What do you think of this, Jack?" When he got no reply, he looked at Jack. He was staring at the feathers in his hand.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
Jack looked up, and said, "I think we need to talk to Daniel about this one, sir."  
  
"And why is that, Colonel?"  
  
"Because we were just talking a bout crows and ravens earlier today. And all the myths and legends that surround them. And when it comes to Daniel, I don't take coincidences well, sir."  
  
The General looked startled for a moment, then nodded. "Neither do I, son, neither do I. Brief him on what Ferretti just told us, and have him come to the briefing. In fact, get your whole team up to speed. I have the feeling that they'll all be involved in this one."  
  
Jack nodded, and headed towards the door. "Me too, Sir, me too."

* * *

Jack found Daniel exactly where he thought he'd find him: sitting in front of the computer, book in one hand, mouse in the other, and surrounded in notes. Two half-empty coffee cups sat on the desk, both stone cold. Sitting on the corner of the desk was a small statue that Jack had never seen before. But then, there were a lot of things in Daniel's office that he'd never seen before. Or at least claimed that he'd never seen before. But this statue was a bit different then the usual, and he used the term "usual" very loosely, considering the job they did, artifacts that graced his desk. It was about 4 inches tall, and looked to be carved from either onyx or obsidian. And it was a large bird, obviously a crow. It rested rather precariously on the edge, and when Jack nudged it more fully onto the table, it seemed warm to the touch.  
  
"So. Tell me, what is it, where's it native to, what stories and legends does it come with, and why is it following you?"  
  
Startled, Daniel looked up at Jack, automatically opening his mouth to answer, then paused. Jack could tell that Daniel's over-active mind had finally registered the questions.  
  
"How did...?"  
  
"How did I know that you'd look it up the first chance you could? Because I know you. You didn't know, so you had to know. Besides that, two reasons. One, it's a puzzle to you, and you love puzzles."  
  
Jack paused, staring at the statue. "Did that just move?"  
  
"Did what just move? The statue? Jack. It's a statue. Statues don't move."  
  
"Yeahsureyoubetcha."  
  
Daniel waited expectantly, but it seemed that Jack was lost in thought.  
  
"Jack. And two?"  
  
Jack sighed. "And two, you seem to have this uncanny knack for finding out information just before we need it. And now, we need to know about crows and ravens. And their legends, and myths."  
  
"Hunh?" A blank, astonished look crossed Daniel's face. "I do?"  
  
"Come on, I'll explain everything once we've got Teal'c and Carter."  
  
"Yeahsureyoubetcha." Daniel grabbed his copious amounts of notes, his cold coffee, a couple of pens, and the book that he'd been looking at when Jack came into the room, and followed Jack out of the room.  
  
Neither of them noticed the small statue that was still sitting on Daniel's desk. It seemed to shudder silently, feathers slowly ruffling, then settling back down. The only other thing that move was its silver-bright eyes, slowly following the two men out of the room. And then it settled down to wait. 


End file.
